Periodontal Care

The tissues that support your teeth are infected by periodontal or gum disease. Poor brushing and flossing practices often contribute to it by allowing plaque, a sticky film of microorganisms, to accumulate on the teeth and solidify. According to our Coeur d'Alene dentist, such issues may result in painful chewing, bleeding gums, and even tooth loss when periodontal disease is severe.

Based on the extent and degree of the condition, how you may have reacted to previous treatments, and your general health, there are many therapies for gum disease. Periodontal care options include surgery to rebuild supporting tissues and non-surgical treatments that inhibit bacterial development.

How Do Periodontal Diseases Form?

When you're healthy, your teeth' roots are firmly anchored in the jawbone. The gum lays on top of the bone and encircles the teeth, creating a collar around the neck. The gum around the teeth's neck is solid and light pink in color.

Infections that damage the gums and the bone that supports the teeth are known as periodontal diseases. Bacteria are often present within the mouth and build up on the enamel surface after meals and beverages. This accumulation causes gum diseases.

Plaque is the term for the mushy, gooey material they produce. Routine dental cleaning often eliminates plaque (brushing and cleaning between the teeth). However, gum inflammation (gingivitis) might happen if some plaque remains close to the gum line.

Our CDA dentist says this irritation may become a severe gum disease if left untreated. Bacteria develop along the root surface below the gum line if periodontal disease is present. The gums separate from the tooth and create what is known as "pockets."

Untreated dental problems may ultimately result in tooth loss. The effect is that the bone surrounding the teeth will pull back and away from the infection. The tooth will lose its support when the bone is destroyed more and more. If left untreated, a gum pocket of 4mm or greater increases the likelihood of the illness progressing.

How Can a Dentist in Coeur d'Alene Treat Gum Disease?

Controlling the infection is the primary objective of treatments. Depending on the severity of the gum disease, several treatment options and numbers will be available. Any therapy necessitates the patient to maintain a high daily care standard at home. Your dentist in CDA could also advise altering specific habits, like stopping smoking, to enhance your treatment outcomes.

Professional Dental Cleaning

Your cosmetic dentist or dental esthetician will clean all of your teeth above and below the gingival margin to eliminate plaque and tartar, which is plaque that accumulates and solidifies on the enamel surface and can only be eliminated by a professional cleaning.

Active gum disease cannot be treated with dental cleanings. However, they are a crucial preventative step that might assist you in halting its growth. Your cosmetic dentistry advisor may advise scheduling a professional dental cleaning more often than twice a year if you exhibit specific indicators of gum disease.

Professional Scaling

Under local anesthesia, a thorough cleaning, non-surgical treatment called scaling removes plaque and tartar from above and below the gum line and softens rough places on the tooth root. The germs are eliminated, creating a clean surface, and allowing the gums to reconnect to the teeth.

Moreover, if your periodontist finds that you need to have plaque and calculus (hardened plaque, also known as tartar) removed from behind your gums, scaling is often a viable option. This process cleans the teeth and eliminates the need for dentures or partial dentures during your golden years.

Flap Surgery

The gums are pulled back during this treatment, and the tartar is removed. In some instances, the injured bone's uneven surfaces are polished to reduce the amount of space where pathogenic germs may lurk.

Afterward, the gums are positioned, so the tissue encircles the tooth tightly. The distance between the gum and the teeth is narrowed using this technique. Furthermore, this reduces the potential for significant health issues brought on by periodontal disease and reduces the places where dangerous germs may develop.

Grafting Procedures

Tissue engineering is a new technique that enables your body to rebuild bone and tissue more quickly. In this surgery, the bone lost due to gum disease is replaced using pieces of your bone, artificial bone, or donor's bone. The grafts provide a foundation for the bone to grow back, giving teeth their stability again.

Soft tissue grafts may fill gaps left by receding gums or fortify weak gums. The damaged region is given more tissue by the stitching of grafted tissue, which often comes from the roof of the mouth.

Tissue Regeneration

This surgery, which is used when the bone supporting your teeth has been removed, promotes the regeneration of bone and gum tissue. Our CDA dentist places a little piece of mesh-like cloth between the bone and gum tissue during this surgery. As a result, the bone and connective tissue may develop again to better support the teeth by preventing the gum tissue from creeping into the space.

Protect Your Teeth Today!

Gum disease (periodontal disease) ranks among the most prevalent cause of tooth loss today, affecting 20% of the adult population. The illness obliterates the connection between the gum and the tooth, compromising the supporting bone in the process. This connection loss forms deep pockets that are difficult to clean regularly. Moreover, these can host chronic infections that result in abscesses and greater mobility of the teeth.

In its early phases, periodontal care is often painless and, without careful evaluation, may go unnoticed for many years. Early identification and treatment are essential for long-term success since it is sometimes too late to preserve all the teeth when symptoms appear.

The degree of gum disease, an individual's predisposition to the illness, and their age at the time of diagnosis all affect how the condition is treated. Simple oral hygiene education to surgical treatments are all possible forms of therapy for deep pockets that have not responded well to other variants of dental care. You can contact us at Coeur d’Alene Dental Center, and we can help you with gum diseases.